Elect the Dead
Elect the Dead is the 2007 debut album by rock-musician Serj Tankian as a solo artist. Tankian was initially known as a founding member of System of a Down, a commercially successful Armenian-American quartet notorious for politically-charged metal informed by a post-genocidal fury. This solo work extends similar themes with Tankian now supplying the majority of materials. Alongside him appear Armenian-American coloratura Ani Maldjian, drummers John Dolmayan (from System of a Down) and B. Brain Mantia (Primus, Guns N' Roses), Dan Monti on guitars, and a string section featuring Antonio Pontarelli.[10]
Marketing
The initial single from the album was "The Unthinking Majority" backed with "Empty Walls", released September 10. Tankian immediately appeared on MTV's "You Rock The Deuce" program. Meanwhile a music-video of "Feed Us" was released in Sweden[11] and on UK MTV[12]. The album was released October 22 2007, and opened at #4 with 66,000 USA units sold according to the Billboard 200 trade listing.[13] By September 2010 the album had sold 319,000 copies total.[14]
Music-videos of the album's songs were each filmed by discrete directors. Tankian revealed: "I asked each of the directors for their visual interpretation of my work. They were asked not to write treatments and that they could make whatever they liked. The results have been overwhelmingly amazing".[15] Initially some videos were released as 'limited edition' premiums. All videos were later freely offered on Tankian's website and his YouTube channel. Some of these "official videos" were alternate versions released one version at a time- suggesting incrementally evolving narrative.
Collectible versions of the album include an instrumental disk offered by Serjical Strike/Reprise Records; and the "final master" from Reprise intended for specific journalists and reviewers. That embargoed disk was labeled "Smart Talk" [a coded reference to the artist's own name].[16] Previously an undated, un-mastered 'Smart Talk' promo featured these same 'final versions' of the songs; but the sequence of tracks ten and eleven was juxtaposed.
Production
Tankian stated that some of these songs were new, and others had developed earlier. "Blue", released on the album's 'special edition bonus disc', had been previously offered by Columbia Records on a promo tape given away before the debut of the first System of a Down disk.
| “ |
It's very wide sounding — lots of different sounding instruments. The excitement I had making this record was the same excitement I had making the first System record. |
” |
|
—Serj Tankian
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An Elect the Dead tour commenced October 12, 2007 at Chicago's Vic Theater. Tankian cautioned fans this production featured a new band 'The FCC' (aka Flying Cunts of Chaos) which was not promoting the System of a Down material. They did however perform "Charades"- written with System bandmate Daron Malakian. A recording of this tour titled Elect the Dead Symphony was released February 23, 2010 in the USA.
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Serj Tankian.
| 1. |
"Empty Walls" |
3:49 |
| 2. |
"The Unthinking Majority" |
3:46 |
| 3. |
"Money" |
3:53 |
| 4. |
"Feed Us" |
4:31 |
| 5. |
"Saving Us" |
4:41 |
| 6. |
"Sky Is Over" |
2:57 |
| 7. |
"Baby" |
3:31 |
| 8. |
"Honking Antelope" |
3:50 |
| 9. |
"Lie Lie Lie" |
3:33 |
| 10. |
"Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition" |
4:23 |
| 11. |
"Beethoven's Cunt" |
3:13 |
| 12. |
"Elect the Dead" |
2:54 |
|
Total length:
|
45:03 |
| 1. |
"Blue" |
2:45 |
| 2. |
"Empty Walls" (Acoustic) |
3:46 |
| 3. |
"Feed Us" (Acoustic) |
4:21 |
| 4. |
"Falling Stars" |
3:05 |
| 13. |
"The Reverend King" |
2:49 |
Personnel
- Elect the Dead
- All drums recorded at The Pass in Los Angeles, CA
- Drum Engineer Krish Sharma
- Assistant Drum Engineer Bo Joe
- Drum Technician at The Pass Sako Karaian
- Mixed by Neal Avron at Paramount Recording Studios in Los Angeles, CA
- Mix Assistant Nicholas Fournier
- Drumming on Tracks 1, 3, 7-9, 11 by Brain
- Drumming on Track 2 by John Dolmayan
- Drumming on Tracks 4 and 5 by Brain and John Dolmayan
- Drum Programming on Track 6 by Dan Monti
- Additional Guitar on Tracks 1-4, 6, 8, 11 by Dan Monti
- Additional Bass on Tracks 2, 6-9, 11 by Dan Monti
- Additional Solo Guitar on Track 5 by Diran Noubar
- Additional Vocals on Tracks 5 and 9 by Ani Maldjian
- Additional Cello on Tracks 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 11, 12 by Cameron Stone
- Additional Violin on Tracks 1, 3, 4, 6, 8 by Antonio Pontarelli
- Additional Synthesizers on Track 6 by Dan Monti and Fabrice Favre
|
- Special Edition Bonus Disc
- Drums on Track 4 recorded at The Pass in Los Angeles, CA
- Additional Engineering on Track 1 by Thom Russo
- Drum Engineer on Track 4 Krish Sharma
- Assistant Drum Engineer on Track 4 Bo Joe
- Drum Technician on Track 4 Sako Karaian
- Tracks 1-3 Mixed by Serj Tankian & Dan Monti
- Track 4 Mixed by Neal Avron
- Track 4 Mix Assistant Nicholas Fournier
- Drumming on Track 4 by John Dolmayan
- Violin Solo on Track 4 by Antonio Pontarelli
- Additional Guitars on Track 4 by Dan Monti
- Additional Violin on Tracks 2-4 by Antonio Pontarelli
- Additional Cello on Tracks 2-4 by Cameron Stone
|
- A&R Craig Aaronson & George Tonikian
- Original Artwork Provided by Sako Shahinian
- Album Packaging Design by Sako Shahinian
- Digipack Album Packaging Design by Keith Aazami
- Photography by Greg Watermann
- Worldwide Management Dave Holmes and Darin Harmon
- Booking (US) Don Muller at CAA
- Booking (Europe) Emma Banks at CAA
- Legal Don Passman and Gene Salomon at Gang, Tyre, Ramer & Brown, Inc.
- Business Management David Weise at DW & Associates
Chart positions
| Year |
Chart |
Peak |
| 2007 |
Top Canadian Albums |
3
|
| The Billboard 200 |
4
|
| Austrian Albums Top 75 |
5
|
| German Albums Top 75 |
10
|
| Swiss Albums Top 100 |
11
|
| Finland Albums Top 40 |
12
|
| New Zealand Albums Chart |
14
|
| ARIA Top 50 (Australia) |
19
|
| France Albums Top 150 |
23
|
| UK Albums Chart |
26
|
References
External links
